Welcome to the Careers Homepage

Do you want a career that is exciting and varied? Do you want to make a real difference to the lives of people all over the world? How about using your mathematics or statistical knowledge to help develop and trial lifesaving medicines?

Then working as a statistician or programmer in medical research could be for you! Click on the links below to find out more…
To learn more about clinical trials and the basic statistical concepts involved, please visit our Schools/Education page.

Job Roles

Find out about different job roles: Role of a Medical Statistician, Role of a Statistical, Programmer, Job Requirements, Job Prospects, Perks of working in Medical Research

Student Placements

Placement and internship opportunities for students are available within medical research and are commonly advertised directly on company websites. For inspiration we have compiled a list below of companies who offer placement schemes.

PSI Careers Event

This event is aimed at students with an interest in the analysis of data within pharmaceuticals, healthcare and/or medical research.

Other Careers Events

A listing of careers events run by other organisations.

University Courses

To work as a medical statistician, most companies require at least an MSc in Statistics, or an MSc with a significant statistical component, or a relevant subject. To work as a statistical programmer, most companies require at least a BSc in Mathematics or Statistics or a relevant subject.  Exact educational requirements can vary by company, so we would always recommend checking the job description for each role to confirm what qualifications are required.

Free Student Membership

PSI membership is free to all students & teachers and is valid from January – December (renewal every January)

Career Progression

If you’ve already made the choice to work as a statistician or statistical programmer within medical research, then you might be wondering what career paths will be open to you in the future.

How to Find a Job

Finding a job in any industry is daunting, not just medical research. This page aims to take you through the process including general advice, what to expect when you apply, and current vacancies. To find out more about life as a medical statistician or programmer and what to expect in your career, please visit our Job Roles page or Career Progression page.

Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Industry

The scope of medical research is vast and is also a successful and growing professional environment. It rises to the varying challenges of the health care industry, not just research, development and manufacturing of new treatments and devices, but also improving the effectiveness of medicines in a broader way.

Statisticians and statistical programmers work on designing, analysing and interpreting clinical trials which are conducted to progress the research, development, manufacture and marketing of products for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

The medical research industry is made up of a wide range of companies - large and small, local, national and international, some with manufacturing and marketing facilities, others concentrating solely on research and development - as well as Contract Research Organisations (CROs) and specialised Clinical Trials Units (CTUs).

CROs frequently provide their research and development services to pharmaceutical companies and they often work in tandem with the manufacturing companies to achieve product approval from the regulatory authorities around the world. There are strong links between CROs and pharmaceutical companies and many within the industry work on cross-functional and cross-company teams that encompass both Pharmaceutical and CRO colleagues working in partnership with one another.

CTUs are also an essential component of medical research, by designing, conducting and analysing clinical trials, in order to determine whether a particular therapy warrants further investigation. They often work in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, academic partners and charity organisations.

Upcoming Events

PSI Webinar: Master protocols - theory, application and regulatory considerations

For this webinar, PSI brings together experts on master protocols from the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and regulatory agencies.

Introduction To Industry Training Course 2020

The ITIT course will take 25 delegates new to the industry on a complete drug development experience from discovery to marketing. They will visit 6 companies to learn about 6 topics from experts in their field. The ITIT course will have 3 sessions in continental Europe and 3 sessions in the UK. The start of the 2020-2021 course will be delayed until face-to-face meetings with up to 30 people are permitted and companies are allowing travel again.

PSI Webinar: Patient preference studies

In this webinar you will hear an introduction to what a patient preference study is as well as an overview of where this type of study can inform regulatory decision making. This will be followed by 2 examples looking at potential approaches to eliciting patient preference.

PSI Vaccine SIG Webinar: Statistical Topics on COVID-19 Therapeutic and Vaccine Clinical Trials

We are delighted to be joined by Frank Harrell who will present 'Sequential Bayesian Designs for Rapid Learning in COVID-19 Therapeutic Trials'; and also by Dean Follmann, who will present on 'Statistical Aspects of COVID-19 Vaccine Trials'. Join us for this insightful and highly topical webinar.

Joint PSI, EFSPI & ASA BIOP Webinar: Estimands

PSI, the European Federation of Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry (EFSPI) and the Biopharmaceutical Section of the American Statistical Association (ASA) are jointly organising a webinar on Estimands in Practice. Speakers from regulatory authorities (FDA and EMA) and industry will present on their experience on this topic to date.

Latest Jobs

Senior Research Statistician

As a member of the Statistical Sciences and Modeling (SSM) group, provide statistical technical support to projects on complex problems and methods.

Statisticians - Oncology

Biometrics at AstraZeneca provides the data that influences decisions on how we roll back the frontiers of science to bring life-changing medicines to the world. We are at the heart of design, analytics and interpretation of AstraZeneca’s portfolio.

Therapeutic Area Global Expert Statistician - CNS & Retinopathies

You are looking for a new professional challenge - we offer you this interesting position in a global company that has been awarded several times the status of best employer.